Watersports are inherently dangerous due to the ever present possibility of drowning. Some sports, such as big wave surfing, compound this danger with immense waves and reefs. When a surfer falls from a surfboard in a 40-foot wave, they can sometimes spend minutes beneath the water before reaching the surface again. Frequently the surfer will not be able to surface before the next wave hits. The motion of the waves can pin the surfer down to the ocean floor and make it extremely difficult to swim to the surface. Other watersports, such as white-water rafting, can create a similarly difficult and potential dangerous situation.
Conventional life preservers have been used for years to keep wearers afloat. However, wearing a life preserver is impractical for many sport applications. In particular, life preservers impede the surfer's paddling motion because they are conventionally positioned on the surfer's chest and stomach area between the surfer and the board. In order to catch a big wave without the aid of a powered watercraft, the surfer must be able to paddle unimpeded.
There have been some attempts at a selectively inflatable vest that includes a pressurized air canister that can be deployed by a ripcord. However, these models cannot be easily deflated and inflated without returning to land and replacing the cartridge. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a selectively inflatable and deflatable garment, such as a vest, for deployment in deep water such as surf or other potentially dangerous conditions.